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Show SYRIAN YANKEE TO ADDRESS MILFORD AUDIENCE An orphaned American citizen, who at the age of seven fled to the hiils of Syria to escape the terrors of the first World war, and for years lived as an animal, will speak here on Friday, Dec. 14, at 8 p. m., under the auspices of the Milford Civic Concert Series. Sa-lom Sa-lom Rizk is the Syrian Yankee y - i i ' ' it' ' MR. RIZK of this saga of human fortitude and the subject of his lecture here will be "The Americanization of an American." Rizk's mother had returned to her Syria, and died at his birth. For a few years his grandmother looked after him, but when she died he was absolutely on his own Then came the years in the hillr; his return to his native village, rebuilt after the first World war, and the subsequent discovery that he was an American citizen and had relatives in the United States Four more years elapsed before satisfactory proof persuaded the American consul in Beirut to issue a passport and start Rizk on his journey home. His life in America exceeded the fondest dreams of his childhood for here he has found an evolving democracy extending its guarantees guaran-tees of liberty, of freedom from want, of individual development Rizk's struggle to adapt himself to realize that the benefits and privileges of citizenship his early youth had led him to expect were reserved only for the well-to-do, is a restatement : of America's promise. His formal education has been scanty, but" as he cobbled shoes he paid another Syrian, then in college, to read books to him by the hour, and in addition paid him one cent for each new word added to his vocabulary. Rizk is a. familiar platform figure' in every section of this country for he has appeared before literally thousands of schools and clubs in the course of the past few years. The vision and courage of a growing grow-ing democracy, the rights and duties du-ties of the citizens are interpreted anew with force and meaning for audiences Which may have taken them for granted. The price of admission for this feature in the "Concert series wil be $1.00 plus tax for those who are not holders of the series ticket. Tickets may be secured at the time of the lecture lec-ture at the Milford high school auditorium. |